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Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide

This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter.
For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. They hope these examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and that you feel encouraged to try out things on your own.

I'm currently using Debian Wheezy, but I'm thinking to revert back to Squeeze, as it seems a little unstable. I have a net install cd. What I want to do is just to install base system of Squeeze and then install desktop environment. However I don't want gnome metapackage. I just want to have pure gnome2 with nautilus, gnome-terminal, network-manager all independable on each other. Which packages do I need?

Maybe that's better than default installation, but still this gnome core has evolution. An app I've never used. Could it be because the calendar is integrated with evolution? Or things like totem or ephiphany.
I have installed base system (on a VM) and got gnome-core along with 400MB archives of dependencies. But how do I start desktop environment now? It's not loading by default. I still have only text version.

Evolution, epiphany, totem, etc. are all part of the core gnome desktop environment.

If that bugs you, then check out Arch, which splits up gnome so you can install the components individually. (But because it is a "rolling release" distro, Arch has the current Gnome 3, not the outdated Gnome 2.)

You can install Gnome the same way as on Arch, with individual packages, you don't have to use the gnome-core package. A simple

Code:

apt-cache depends gnome-core

will show you what the gnome-core package installs, just choose from that what you need and leave out the rest. To start the X environment (which of course has to be installed) you can either use startx (part of the xinit package) or you install a display manager, like gdm, slim, xdm, nodm, ..., so that the system starts in GUI mode by default.